Is the in-person con in danger?
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Posted by cinnibar adcjones
#26

adcjones wrote:
To be honest, I do have a fear that some large retailers would rather have an online Con over an in-person con, like Paizo, for instance.  

Not too worried.  Sure they think that.  But the truth is that a one-shop online convention is just too same-y to attract the bulk of the visitors.   It's the dream that people will shop exclusively at your site, for only your products, rather than use like Amazon, etc.

Posted by aaronmlopez
#27

People can watch baseball on TV and yet many still go to games. In person attendance is simply a different experience altogether. Until technology advances to a point where there is no difference between Online and In-person experiences such as conventions, sporting events, amusement parks, etc. The In-Person cons will continue. 

Posted by helenbb
#28

Additionally, the most dedicated fans attend in-person events. Exhibitors at Gen Con know that they will be able to reach a concentrated group of serious gamers, people who could easily become regular/long-term customers. They also know that they will be reaching a lot of bloggers/podcasters who  can spread buzz about their products in the right places.

Posted by fethbone
#29

I'm sure companies would much rather sell via an online event versus in-person...if the exposure and sales were the same as they got in-person. Hosting an online event is much cheaper than packing up and traveling to GenCon for 5-6 days, but it's just not the same. 

While I'm sure some vendors may attend not expecting a huge [monetary] profit, if it wasn't a good investment to spend the time and money to show up at a typical in-person con, we would have switched to online-only events long ago. Apparently Paizo and others did not feel the 50-60% attendance cap and lessened convention space was worth the trouble this year. 

All that to say I am confident the show will go on.

Posted by helenbb
#30

I barely knew that there was an exhibit hall last year. It was so easy to ignore, and had none of the spectacle that you normally expect on a show floor. Online cons don't seem to sell a lot of merchandise.

Posted by lore seeker
#31

Holy frak, was I scared when I saw this thread got necro'd (until I read the new posts).

Posted by kevinrg helenbb
#32

helenbb wrote:
Online cons don't seem to sell a lot of merchandise.

Online cons remove the immediate gratification aspect of buying.   At the con, it's in my hand... I can take it now and enjoy it so, you might pay a little more for it because of that.   Online cons, unless an exclusive, its more like.. eh.. if I have to wait anyways, I'll just get the cheapest deal where-ever that is online.

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